Brand and Customer Loyalty

Last week one of my social media clients made a comment I’ve been thinking about for several days. He said, “Why is it that many of the websites I see or blogs I read look the same and seem to communicate the same messages, over and over again?” It was a pretty interesting question I hadn’t been asked before and it tied in perfectly with my pitch to him for utilizing my services rather than trying to figure out how to master everything on his own.

When I advise entrepreneurs, especially independent artists, and small businesses, I always mention that over-inflated descriptions on websites and blogs might not be presenting the image or message they are seeking. If you hadn’t noticed before, so many companies spout the same words in describing their brand, business, or service. Words like ‘guru’, ‘award-winning’, ‘renowned’ ‘visionary’, ‘innovative’, ‘outstanding’, ‘leading’, ‘famous’, and ‘world-class’… the list goes on and on. I suggest to my clients to consider a new approach—stop filling the gaps in their branding strategy with empty words—instead, let your customers speak for you. It’s a much more powerful statement to simply let them be the judges of the quality of your services or the extraordinary benefits of your products. By doing so, you will increase the effectiveness of your social media message AND give your customer’s an opportunity to share your message with people who will really listen to them; their friends!

Branding is truly about the WOW factor. If you cannot stand out from the competition through your actions, then it might be best to just not say anything at all. Instead, let the sincere value of authenticity and transparency work for you.